An Afternoon in the Yard

A friend came to stay with me in New York a few weeks ago. There's a cigar lounge near the house that I've been around since I was a kid, so I took him by, we picked out a couple, and brought them back to sit in the yard. We were out there most of the afternoon.

He's moving to the city for work, and I wanted to walk him through my old stomping grounds first. We hit the deli I've been getting antipasto and Italian ingredients from my whole life. Then the lounge.

I should explain the lounge, because it's most of the story. It's a neighborhood place, the kind friends and family always drifted through. It's also where I got into cigars. A few of us used to stop in a couple times a week, shoot the breeze with the owners, and walk out with something we hadn't tried. I don't smoke at that pace anymore, but I learned what I know in that room.

The cigar found us more than we found it. My friend liked the lion on the band, I hadn't smoked the brand before, and the owner pointed us at it. We'd been going back and forth between a few from the same maker, but it was a bright afternoon and I didn't want anything heavy, so we went with the lighter one: the La Aurora Preferidos 1903 Sapphire. Right call. It was nutty, with a hint of coffee underneath, which sat well next to the espresso I had going. (I almost always have an espresso with a cigar. One of my favorite things.)

The rest of it was just the day. Seventy-four degrees, a little breeze, the start of May. We talked about what was coming for both of us, the things we were actually excited about. He's newer to this than I am, so I passed along a few things worth knowing. Mostly we just sat there.

I've never smoked much. A handful a year, usually tied to something: a friend visiting, a good afternoon, a reason to sit outside and not rush. I like it that way, and not for any noble reason. When you only have a few, you remember them. I can tell you everything about this one. I doubt I could if it were my fifth that week.

We finished the cigars, sat a while longer, and eventually went inside. He's in the city now, and I see him less. I've still got that afternoon, though, and I'll have it for a while.

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